Unforgettable

by Crazily-Addicted

A/U. OOC. Bella left Jake's life abruptly after her w 6 yrs later, a still alive Bella is forced by circumstances to return to Forks.What happens when their paths suddenly collide? Read to find out!Rated M for future chapters...Please Review!

34. Chapter 31

Chapter 31 – Jake

Disclaimer: - I don't own Twilight… or Jacob for that matter! Shocking no? I thought so too! God, life is soooooooooo unfair!

A/N: - Umm… Sorry…? (Ducks and hides for fear of harmful flying objects.) As always, I never meant for this much of a delay and as always time just got away from me. Sorry. Really, truly sorry. Stupid RL and stupid writer's block! Grrrrrr!

But hey, on the bright side this chapter is…and I'm not even kidding when I say this… 57 typed pages. Holy shit, right? Yup, it's a monster of a chapter alright and one I hope will make up for the long, LONG delay. So am I forgiven yet? Yeah, I thought I might be.

I know that a LOT of you were majorly upset with Jake/me at the end of last chapter. I hope this chapter gives you a better understanding of his motivations as well as enabling you to forgive him (and me!) for his actions.

This chapter is dedicated to my soulmate and beta, Erin and to my friend Wendy, without whose love and support this chapter would never have been written.

And now without further ado…

JPOV

Three miles. Three. Lousy. Fucking. Miles!

That's how far I got (How could I know that I was exactly three miles away from the cave…? Because I just fucking did, that's why! It was another one of those freaky wolf things. We just knew distance. Could judge it to an accuracy of a few inches, give or take. Instinctively. Not much of a super power granted, but it sure came in handy for running patrols and for judging…well… 'distances') before the enormity of my actions bore down upon me like a battering ram from hell. My heart began to thud painfully in my chest. My breath backed up in my throat –the pressure, fuck, there was so much fucking pressure on my chest – choking me, smothering me. My feet turned to lead (each of them felt like they weighed at least a freaking ton) and refused to obey the simple commands of my brain. Raw, unadulterated panic swamped my gut; skittering through my veins.

Jesus, God… what the hell was going on? If I didn't know any better I'd have thought that I was having a panic attack. but werewolves couldn't have panic attacks, could they?

Bella… God, Bella.

She was all I could think about… all I could feel. What the hell was I doing?

Had to go back. Had to go back right fucking now. Mine. Mine. Mine. My mate, not his… not the leeches. Mine. All mine. Want her… need her… now… now… Now!

No, no, no! I shouldn't think like that. I couldn't. She wasn't mine.

Yes she was!

Well she wouldn't be for very long. It was just a question of her finding out about the mating I'd unwittingly forced on her and that would be that. Bye bye Jakie!

A feral growl escaped my throat; an involuntary protest at the thought of Bella, my Bella getting rid of me. (Never! Not ever. Not in this fucking lifetime!)

Fuck! Fuck! Bloody fucking fuck! I was such a hot, fucking mess! (Head exploding; blood, bone and gore everywhere; kind of a mess!) For fuck's sake, this whole possessive, ownership thing was going to get old really fast. This was modern day America, where women were considered to be equal (if not better) than men; not the freaking middle ages! I had no claims on her, despite what my wolf seemed to feel. Bella was her own person dammit – with choices and options and she was fully capable of sorting through those choices and making her own decisions.

Of course, my heart had to pick that very moment to remind me that she had chosen (That is, if I was to believe her heartfelt declaration in my apartment the other night, she had). And hard as it was to believe, she'd chosen me. (Had she really though? Yeah, she'd said she loved me, but then, she'd loved me six years ago too. Only then, it hadn't been nearly enough to make her want to stay. So what was so different this time around, huh? And the leech…she'd loved him too. Like, really loved him. And yet, she'd left him too. So what made me think that she really loved me now and that that love would be enough to make her stay forever…?)

Yes! Yes she really loved me! She said it herself. She belonged to me. Mine mine mine… Take her, claim her, own her…

Jesus that sounded so good. Fuck! What was wrong with me? Were those my thoughts or the wolf's? I didn't know anymore. What was more, I wasn't sure I even cared.

Screwed. I was so fucking screwed!

Confused, unsettled, disoriented; I stood there, frozen in place almost as if I'd been zapped by one of those pre-programmed electric collars thingies – the ones used to keep pets from escaping pre-determined boundaries.

Fuck. Fuck! This back and forth was getting fucking confusing and that was messing with my fucking mind. I wanted her. I didn't want her. I needed her. I didn't need her. I had to be with her. I had to leave her alone. What a fucking mess!

And as if that wasn't bad enough, I was apparently having trouble distinguishing between the wolf's thoughts and my own and thus my life was completely fucked up! The resulting confusion was only exacerbated by the yearning, the longing we both felt for her… for Bella. The need, the sheer want coursing through me was phenomenal. It went beyond anything I'd ever felt or experienced before.

Her name was a never-ending refrain in my head… in my heart. The need to be with her… to return to her side arose in my gut and continued all the way, right down to the depths of my fucking soul.

So what the fuck was I doing, leaving her with the leech, no less? She was still recovering from her ordeal with Vladimir, still coming to grips with her kidnapping and the following assault at the hands of a madman and here I was, more concerned with my own damn problems than hers! Oh sure, my motives behind leaving her had been sound; my sentiments, noble. (I'd felt awful about what had happened in that cave. I'd behaved like the animal I was and taken her; marked her… branded her like she was no better than cattle! I'd hurt her and that just fucking killed me. But what was worse; what was unforgivable was that I'd done all this without her permission. And no matter how much I tried to convince myself to the contrary, that was just horribly wrong! So, I'd honestly needed some time to sort everything out and get my feelings in proper, working order.) But frankly speaking, leaving her in the leech's care had to be the worst idea of the century. Especially when I knew, more than anyone, how much in love with her he still was. I was a fucking moron, that's what I was!

I'd basically left her alone, in the middle of nowhere with the one person guaranteed to take advantage of the situation to further his own means. Ugh! Sure, Cullen would take care of her…even at the cost of his own life (I had no doubts about that. He was just that fucking noble, not to mention, just that fucking crazy about her. Ugh!), but barring any immediate danger; he'd also revel in this opportunity (an opportunity I'd presented to him on a goddamn silver platter) to weasel his way back into her good graces.

So why the fuck had I called him? Of all the people I could've called, why him? Try as I might, I couldn't figure it out. Why not Seth or Sam or Paul or Jared? Any one of my wolves would've been better than the leech; heck, any of the other leeches would've been a damn sight better if you thought about it! The pixie, Alice, she loved Bella too. She'd have protected her at any cost too. So why the fuck hadn't I called her?

'Because you're a fucking moron, that's why!' This time it was definitely the wolf, no doubt about it and he was totally pissed off. His anger did nothing to soothe the raw emotions raging within me. In fact, it only served to make me even angrier.

"Yeah, fuck you!" I snapped impatiently, in no mood to deal with his displeasure. I had enough shit on my plate as it was.

The wolf didn't like my tone… or my attitude for that matter. He didn't like it one bit. He snapped and snarled and tried to wrestle control of the situation. Of me. Well, fuck that shit. I was done letting him have his way with me whenever he fucking felt like it.

With a herculean effort of will I pushed him back to the far recesses of my mind once again. (So, what if the effort left me feeling faintly nauseous and sick, huh? So what if the peace was bound to be extremely short lived? The blessed silence in my mind was totally worth it!) Reveling in the momentary peace and quiet, I continued to analyze my seemingly idiotic actions.

It wasn't as if the leech had kept his plans a secret. No. On the contrary, he'd been extremely vocal about them every chance he got. He'd told me, in no uncertain terms, that he was going to try to win Bella back. (Well, actually in his version of events, he was going to win her back, no matter what, but that was beside the point. Couldn't really begrudge a madman his delusions now, could I?) In fact, he'd been very insistent on it. So I couldn't even claim ignorance. And I knew for a fact that I just wasn't that trusting or naïve. (The horrifying things I'd had to see and do since turning into this supernatural monster had stripped me of my innocence a long time ago.) So should I blame my actions on temporary insanity then? Yeah, I guess that might just work.

Fuck it! Why the hell was I beating myself up over this? I'd done what needed to be done and that was that. Given the situation and the limited resources available to me, I'd made the best decision I could. I'd just had to get away from her at the time. There was no way I deserved to be near her…to even breathe the same air as her after what I'd… or rather, my wolf had done to her.

So if it'd been so fucking right, why did it feel so very wrong? And why; instead of escaping my tormented thoughts with a nice, brisk run in the cold outdoors; was I stuck here, in the stark, white landscape, fighting to breathe…?

One foot in front of the other – left, right, left, right. That was all I had to do. Should've been simple enough, right? Wrong! Somehow even that simple movement proved too much. If only I could just force my body to obey the dictates of my mind; to overcome the sluggishness, the lethargy that invaded all of my senses…

I tried to tell myself that it would all turn out to be okay, that it would take just a few more measly steps… just a few more steps and I'd be able to break through this feeling of apathy that'd invaded my limbs. But no. When had things ever gone my way?

Perfect! Just fucking perfect! Apparently I couldn't even do the right thing now because my own body had taken upon itself to betray me in the worst possible way!

And then, to make matters worse, my imagination chose that exact moment in time to fire up in vivid Technicolor detail. Edward touching Bella… kissing her… holding her in his cold, rigid arms… consoling her… helping her to recover from her ordeal. On and on it went; getting progressively worse by the minute till it got to a point where it was unbearable. Edward… sinking his teeth into the warm, pliable skin of her throat…

And that was when the jitters set in full force…

Oh Fuck NO!

Fuck, fuck, fuck! He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't! He wouldn't, right? Right?

My mate. Mine. Ours! Rip the leech to shreds. Rip him. Tiny itty, bitty pieces. Set him on fire. Burn him! Kill him, kill him, kill him. Our Bella.

No, no, no! What the fuck was wrong with me? God, I was so totally messed up; so confused and shaken; by everything that'd happened in the last 24 hours that I wasn't thinking straight, dammit! And to be fair, who wouldn't be shocked at some of the things I'd discovered? I'd gone from being an ordinary alpha werewolf (well, as ordinary as a 'werewolf' could be anyway…) to being a super powerful beast who kicked major ass and had little or no control over his own actions, to being mated for life to the girl of my dreams (a girl who'd – in the past – stomped on my heart time and again and broken and bruised it beyond recognition but who now claimed to be head over heels in love with me) – and all without my consent or hers for that matter. So, could you really blame me for losing my fucking shit temporarily?

But that didn't change the bottom line, which was that, even at this minute, Bella was all alone (probably… most likely vulnerable) and in the company of the one person in the world who would go out of his way to ensure that this situation would benefit his ultimate goal in some way or the other. (Fucking cocksucker of a leech!) And his ultimate goal was and had always been taking Bella away from me and making her his own forever. So, taking all these facts into question, it bore asking once again… What the fuck had I been thinking?

Bella… Bella… Bella. Hold her… touch her… kiss her… fuck her…now… now… Now!

Oh God, I was losing my goddamn mind! I had to go back. Right fucking now. I had to go back to her. I had to see her. I had to touch her. I had to hold her.

Yes, yes, yes!

No. Wait! Hold on one damn minute.

The circumstances under which I'd decided to leave her hadn't really changed. She was better off without me, wasn't she? Yes, she was. She didn't deserve to have something like this done to her… she didn't deserve to be forcibly tied to me (or anyone else for that matter) for the rest of her life. She would hate me; detest me; once she came to know what I'd unwittingly done to her. And rightly so. Yup, I'd absolutely done the right thing in leaving when I did.

And then, before I could congratulate myself any further, my mind drifted back to the events that'd transpired in the cave prior to all that mating shit. Jesus, the things Bella and I had done to each other…I couldn't even think of that without getting a hard-on to rival all hard-on's!

And holy Mary mother of God, I didn't even want to think about what her reaction would be to my desertion after that! The old Bella would've done nothing, except maybe fall into a deep abyss of depression. But this Bella, this new and improved; grown-up Bella…well…she was going to castrate me, skewer my balls and barbeque them in front of my eyes; just for the pleasure of seeing me weep like a little baby! So it kinda made sense to just head back to her now, before she woke up and realized that I was gone, right?

Shit! Fuck! Shit!

I went back and forth, fighting my instincts; fighting everything in me; trying to figure out what to do. As a result, I was rooted to the spot in my indecision, unable to move forward and yet unwilling to turn back. It was humiliating to say the least. I was literally stuck…incapable of moving even a freaking inch.

Dammit, I should've known that leaving Bella for her own good; while seemingly fine and dandy in theory would turn out to be much harder than I could've ever imagined in practice. Like really fucking hard. (Try impossible and you'd have some fucking clue as to exactly how difficult it was.)

But I hadn't known. Had absolutely no clue. And that's why I'd been caught completely unawares when this feeling of panic… of debilitating loss and fear struck me out of the blue. Fuck it all!

The emotional aspect of it, I could've handled. Sure, it would've hurt like a bitch but I would've sucked it up and dealt with it like a man. (I had an amazing amount of experience dealing with emotional pain after all. I'd mastered all the nifty little tricks of dealing with a broken heart in the six years of Bella's absence.) No, it wasn't the emotional aspect at all. It was the physical stuff that did me in… real; honest to goodness symptoms that crept up on me out of nowhere and made me feel sick, uneasy and unsettled. The more I tried to ignore the feeling, the faster my heart pounded, till it resembled an out of control freight train. Beads of sweat popped up on my brow and I had to battle myself so that I didn't have a full blown panic attack.

Bella…Bella… Bella.

Jesus fucking Christ! What was going on with me? This…whatever this was, it felt horrendous.

She might've been better off without me but that didn't mean that I was better off without her. Selfish, I know… but then I'd always been selfish where Bella was concerned.

Each and every part of me was crying out for her. It was a physical need… a longing that was impossible to ignore. I needed her. I needed her.

And then it struck me – the perfect solution to all of my problems – a way in which I could be near her without actually being with her! It'd take some ingenuity of course, but if I could manage to mask my presence from the leech, I could keep my distance from her and yet ensure that she was alright, that she was safe and protected and that the leech took her straight to Dr. Cullen like he'd said he would. (It was damn near flawless – the perfect way of being close to her, but not too close. If only I'd thought of it sooner. Oh well… it wasn't like there was anything to stop me from changing my mind, was there?)

The moment I arrived at that conclusion, just like that, the pain disappeared (Pfft!) as if it'd never existed in the first place. The excruciating pressure in my head just popped like a cork. My muscles stopped protesting and unlocked magically almost as if they'd been waiting for me to come to this very solution. How strange…

Before I even knew what was happening, before I was aware of having made a decision; I turned around and began running back to the cave; anxious to get back to her as soon as humanly possible.

'I told you it would be impossible for us to stay away from her now…'

The wolf's voice gave me a brief pause. Yes, he'd told me/warned me…whatever. He'd begged me to reconsider. I hadn't listened. And now here I was running back to her with my tail between my legs. Where was the 'almost bordering on stubborn' tenacity, the formidable self-control that I was infamous for? A few measly moments away from Bella and poof… all the self-control had gone up in a puff of smoke.

Wait a minute! I replayed my thoughts, a tiny kernel of suspicion blooming in my mind. What I was feeling, doing was totally and completely uncharacteristic of me. This debilitating fear, this anxiety… how could I be certain that this was me…that this wasn't him, my wolf? What if this was just another ploy to mess with me, to manipulate me into doing what he wanted?

My temper ignited hard and fast; like a spark to really dry tinder. "Did you do this?" I questioned harshly.

'What?'

"Answer me!" I snapped, in no mood to mess around. "Did you do this? Are you making me feel this way, you bastard?"

'No, of course not! As if I even could…' He sounded emphatic… and supremely insulted. 'What you're feeling comes from the bond; it is a form of separation anxiety originating from your bull-headed determination to be separated from your mate.'

I don't know why, but I believed him; believed that he was telling me the truth. Maybe it was the lack of triumph in his voice. (If I'd detected even the slightest hint of gloating in his voice I'd have shut him down faster than he'd have been able to comprehend.) Or maybe it was the honest, heartfelt relief I could feel in him... the happiness of knowing that he was about to be by his mate's side after all. Whatever it was, I couldn't detect the slightest hint of deceit in him. So, I chose to go along with him and let the matter go – for now. Besides, I had other, more urgent things to focus on. Like his latest and most recent update on the effects of the mating bond…

"Are you telling me that the bond will make it physically impossible for me to be away from Bella ever again; that I'll feel sick unless we're together all the fucking time?" I questioned incredulously.

This couldn't be happening, not to me, not to us! It was just plain fucking crazy! No matter how much I loved her (and I did… more than life itself), I was not going to follow her around like a lovesick puppy for the rest of my life! I had to draw the line at some point and that was it as far as I was concerned. She had to have her privacy, her own life away from me or she'd go crazy and frankly speaking, so would I. And call me crazy or delusional, but I had a hunch that Bella would strongly support me on this.

'Don't be stupid!' The wolf barked gruffly. 'You're not going to have to be together every moment of every day. That would be physically impossible to do; not to mention ridiculous; unless you were actually joined at the hip, which you obviously are not!'

"Well, hallelujah!" I muttered sarcastically but at the same time, I couldn't help feeling a tiny spurt of relief. For once, things had gone my way. But the relief was short-lived, extremely so.

'The anxiety you're feeling right now is just a manifestation of you trying to fight the bond; reject it. The feeling will go away as soon as both you and Bella accept the bond, give in to it. After that, it should be smooth sailing for the both of you.'

"The both of us…? Are you telling me that she's feeling this… this panic, this anxiety too?"

'I can't be a hundred percent sure but other than the fact that she's human, I can't imagine why things would be any different for her than they are for us. If anything, the fact that she's a human just might make this whole experience more… intense for her.'

More riddles. Yay! "What does that mean?" I questioned, bracing myself for the answer.

'The panic, the anxiety – they'll be more heightened, more intense for her, more…shall we say… overwhelming...?'

That's it? He was going to leave it at that? Nuh uh. No fucking way! "Elaborate!" I snapped brusquely. Even though he didn't try to resist my demand or argue against it I could sense his emotions, his reluctance and for some reason, that only succeeded in making me antsy.

'Well… technically, the fact that you're a superhuman means that you feel more, sense more than the average human but you also have a better control over all the variables in your life, like your emotions. You can assimilate them faster, more efficiently; even put them aside temporarily if the situation calls for it. This helps you to get back to an even keel. Bella, being a human doesn't have that luxury. To put things simply, she'll probably feel too much, too soon and not be able to deal with it.'

"What do you mean she won't be able to deal with it?"

'Too many emotions bombarding her from all sides… you do the math, boy. She might go crazy, that's what I meant!'

Fuck! "So, how do I make sure she doesn't go through this shit?"

'It's simple, really. You give in to the bond and accept her as your mate.'

I growled my displeasure at the fait accompli.

The wolf went on unfazed. 'I told you…this is an irreversible process. Once begun, it can't be undone.'

"Jesus Christ!" I muttered disgustedly. "It just gets better and better, doesn't it? So what you're basically saying is that unless she and I accept this so called 'mating bond' we're going to have to be within touching distance of each other for the rest of our lives or go out of our minds, is that it?"

The grim silence said it all.

"Bloody fucking hell!" I raged angrily. Bind her to me for the rest of our natural lives or let her go insane – what the fuck kind of choice was that? "This… this is no better than imprinting. And the worst of it is; I did this to her. I forced this… this life sentence on her!"

'Fuck that!' He exclaimed impatiently. 'She loves you. She wants to be with you, you know that. Besides, don't you feel the same way about her? I know for a fact that she's what you've wanted your whole life. So stop being an idiot and accept your fate.'

I had no response to that. None that would sound sane and rational anyway. And what could I say, really? I couldn't very well deny it. That would be an exercise in futility. He was right. He was right about everything and he knew it. Trying to protest the obvious would just be a waste of time and energy considering that neither of us was going to buy it anyway.

I just hated it. Hated this utter and complete loss of control. In less than a day, this stranger… this intruder had taken over my life and made it his own; had taken everything I held precious and screwed it up beyond recognition!

I was supposed to have rescued Bella. Me. Not some superhuman presence that took over my mind whenever it damn well pleased and just for the heck of it no less! Likewise, I was supposed to love Bella, to cherish her forever. She was supposed to be mine and mine alone. Now, not only did I not have a choice in what I felt about her or how I acted on those feelings but I also had to share her with someone else. Granted, that someone else was for all practical intents and purposes me, but hey, it was the principle of the thing wasn't it?

And as I was registering these feelings; trying to deal with them, I also realized why I hadn't assigned one of my pack members to look after Bella, or why I had trusted the fucking leech over everyone else for that matter. It was because I was afraid; afraid that my alter ego would take over and try to influence, to coerce my pack into going against my wishes. He was, technically, an alpha too. He could give them alpha commands without me being any the wiser to his presence, just like I'd been while I'd been fighting off Vladimir's minions or later, in the cave with Bella. He could even fool the vampires into doing his bidding – they'd think that they were being asked by Jacob after all. No, I couldn't take that chance. Edward was literally the only one I could trust. His special ability would help him out; he'd be able to read the wolf's mind and distinguish it from my own.

'Fucking pussy!' The wolf spat disgustedly, having discerned my thoughts without my knowledge.

"What did you call me?" I demanded in an ominously calm tone of voice.

Most people trembled before me when I used that voice, including Leah (sometimes…). The wolf was undeterred. 'I called you a fucking pussy, that's what.' For the first time, I heard real anger and frustration in his voice. Yeah well, bring it on!

An involuntary snarl escaped me. "Watch your fucking mouth, you asshole!"

The wolf went on, seemingly unaffected by my display of anger. "Jesus, you're such a fucking coward, you know that? You're so fucking misguided and stubborn that you can't even begin to see right from wrong! You've shoved your head so far up your fucking ass that I'm surprised it isn't popping out of your mouth already!'

"And you are a filthy, disgusting animal!" I retorted.

'Wow. How original! And, technically, I AM an animal. And I don't get why that upsets you so much. Because I made it possible for us to have what we both so desperately wanted but that you weren't man enough to claim for yourself? That doesn't make me filthy or disgusting. It might make me selfish, but hey, I'm an animal, remember? I don't think, I don't evaluate and reevaluate my options. I see something I want; I take it, plain and simple.'

"Jesus…" He couldn't really mean it. He didn't really mean it. He was just trying to taunt me…to elicit a reaction out of me. Right? Jesus, I felt sick.

'What did I tell you…? Fucking pussy!'

Almost there, almost there… I repeated endlessly in my mind while simultaneously picking up speed. I was determined to get back to the cave as soon as possible because goddammit, I was sick and tired of being alone with my own thoughts…especially when said thoughts weren't private as they damn well should be.

'Oh yeah run along like the itty bitty coward that you are…' The wolf mocked.

That's it! I'd had enough!

But before I could think of an appropriate response to put the bastard in his place I came across a sight that wiped my mind clean of the anger, the resentment that I felt for the wolf. In fact, it wiped my mind clean, period. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on the way you looked at it, it also stunned the wolf into silence.

About a hundred yards ahead of us, the leech was running through the woods (shirtless) with Bella (who was dressed in nothing but said shirt) nestled lovingly in his arms.

What. The. Fuck.

Jealousy; seething, raging, all consuming. Possessiveness; mine, mine, MINE! Fury; irrepressible, uncontrollable… Kill him. Kill the leech. Tear him apart!

Reason didn't apply. Nor did logic. There was only a blind, tearing, all-consuming need to reclaim what was mine. I was taken aback by the intensity and the magnitude of my emotions. The only thing that stopped me from actually going bat shit crazy and shredding the leech apart like I wanted to was the fact that Bella could/would get hurt in the process. (The first order of business was to get Bella away from him… far, far away!) I sprang into action, covering the last few hundred feet in what felt like a few strides.

The leech came to a screeching halt as I jumped into his path suddenly, snarling deep in my throat. "What the…? Where did you come from?" He snapped, hunching over her protectively.

A part of me – a very tiny part – was intrigued by the fact that the leech apparently didn't hear or sense me coming. (Hmmm… very interesting. Another neat little super-wolf trick, I imagine. Whatever this was, it'd come in very handy for future leech attacks! I'd definitely have to analyze this in much more detail later.) But the majority of me was more occupied with the fact that the leech was touching Bella. MY Bella. Not to mention, he was holding her; way too tightly for my comfort. No. Fuck No! My mate. Mine!

I saw red. Literally. (Kill him. Tear him apart. Now!) "Get your fucking, filthy hands off of my mate!" I roared. The sudden proclamation brought about varied reactions. Confusion from me (What the Fuck…? I was supposed to be denying the bond not declaring it!), smug satisfaction from the wolf and rage bordering on hatred from the leech. Peachy!

"She is NOT your mate!" The leech reacted strongly, his hold on her tightening imperceptibly.

The wolf went a little crazy. I went a little crazy. (So what if I'd been trying to deny the mating myself for the last hour or so… it didn't mean that he could do it!) I wanted his hands off her. Right fucking now!

She was mine dammit! Mine. All mine. Not his. Never his. Mine. Always. Forever. I didn't want him (or anyone else except me for that matter) touching her. Ever. And yet, I was also pretty sure that I needed to stay away from her for her own good. God, what a godawful mess!

But I didn't have time to deal with my confused feelings on the issue, not right now. I'd have enough time for the soul searching later. Right now, all I knew was that I needed his hands off her more than I needed my next breathe. I couldn't let him have her. I just couldn't. "I think that mark on her neck says differently, leech…" I taunted deliberately, secure in the knowledge that no matter how upset he was with me, the leech would kill himself before hurting Bella in any way.

I was right. The leech growled threateningly at me, but his grip on Bella never varied, not once. "Don't push me, boy! That mark means nothing, nothing, do you hear me? I'll find a way to undo it as soon as possible!"

Hell no. Fuck no! "If you even touch her wrong, I swear to God…" I threatened in a deadly soft voice.

"But right now, I have to get her to Carlisle as soon as possible. As it is, your negligence might've cost us valuable time." The leech went on without acknowledging my visibly visceral reaction to his statement.

His utter disregard for my feelings drove me nuts. "I'll take her wherever she needs to go. Me, not you. For the last fucking time, she's mine! You had your chance with her and you screwed up. Big time. Now she's with me. And if you do anything, and I mean anything, to jeopardize my chance with her now, I'll tear you apart and burn your sparkly ass with my own fucking hands, treaty be damned!"

"But, see… I haven't lost my chance with her at all. That's what I've been trying to tell you for so long, you overgrown mutt! She's upset with me right now. She thinks she's moved on. She's deluded herself into thinking that she has all these feelings for you. But what she and you don't realize as yet is that she can never get over me. Never! Love like ours never fades, you see. She and I are destined to be together. Forever. We're meant to be. You're just a minor distraction, Jacob. You know I'm right boy. Or you wouldn't have left…er… sorry, abandoned her in my care just a little while ago…"

Jesus, that smug condescending cocksucking prick! I couldn't believe his audacity. "Who's deluding himself now, huh? I left her in your care… temporarily," I hissed "but that didn't mean that I was handing her over to you, no way! And at no time did I imply that you were free to dress her up in your clothes and cart her around like you fucking owned her while she was sleeping!" I snapped back. "Now, for the last fucking time, take your filthy fucking hands off her or lose them forever leech!"

"She's not sleeping, she's unconscious!" Edward responded patronizingly.

Terror, sheer and bright ran through my limbs. The anger at the leech; the jealousy; the possessiveness were all a thing of the past. She was what was important. Always. "What? Why?" I questioned, unable to control the panic leaking through my voice. "She was alright when I left…Did something happen? Is she hurt?"

My fault. All mine. Why had I left her, why?

"No, she's not hurt." The leech assured me impatiently. "At least I don't think she is…" He trailed off uncertainly.

He didn't know…? Jesus! Countless times through medical school and he couldn't determine whether a person was injured or not? Fucking moron! What a godawful waste of time and energy and money…

I prayed to a God I didn't believe in for patience… for sanity, at least till I could figure out why it was that Bella; who'd been just sleeping when I'd left her not even fifteen minutes ago; was now unconscious. "So, then what the fuck happened? Cuz newsflash dead guy, people just don't faint for no apparent reason! Something had to have happened while I was away…" I explained with exaggerated patience.

"Well…she didn't faint dead away, in case that's what you're talking about. She's unconscious because I've administered a mild sedative."

I lost it. What the fuck…? I was going to kill him. Oh yeah, I was going to dismember him…slowly and systematically…and enjoy every freaking second of it! But first things first… "Why?" I snarled; the tenor of this question vastly different from the earlier one. This time the implication was loud and clear – explain or be prepared to lose some body parts.

"That's none of your business, boy!"

Oh yeah, I was going to enjoy tearing his throat out. So damn much. I got right in his face and threatened in a deadly soft voice, "Tell me why you sedated her right this fucking minute unless you want your dead, stony dick to become pet food!"

"I see you're as brash and impulsive as always Jacob Black." The leech couldn't resist the taunt. "I guess I shouldn't have expected you to have matured very much. After all, it takes way more than six years to achieve such traits."

Fucking asshole! "You should know, considering the fact that you've been around for more than a century without gaining even an ounce of it yourself!"

"You're such a…a child! I can't fathom what Bella sees in you!"

Oh wow… now that was pretty 'kindergarten', even for the leech. But knowing this; knowing that I shouldn't be stooping to his level; didn't stop the flash of anger and insecurity that the words incited within me. "Yeah well, you're a tottering grandpa with intimacy issues and I've never understood what Bella saw in you either so I guess that makes us pretty much even!" I spat, incensed. "Now tell me what you've fucking done to Bella and why or I swear to God, I'll rip you to tiny little pieces and scatter them all over the fucking world!"

"If you must know, imbecile, a few moments after you left, Bella started to thrash around and moan in her sleep, almost as if she were having a nightmare. I tried to soothe her, to wake her up, but she just kept calling for you… screaming your name." He spat out accusingly. I could see the toll it took… could see that admitting her need for me was killing the leech, but I was too upset with myself to enjoy his misery. "Her unease just increased exponentially with time, until she was in the grips of a full blown panic attack. No matter what I did, no matter how I tried, she just wouldn't wake up. Finally, I arrived at the conclusion that administering a mild sedative and getting her over to Carlisle as soon as possible was the only course of action."

Guilt. Instant and all consuming. Fuck. Fuck! My fault. All my fault. The wolf had warned me about this… told me that Bella would feel the supercharged version of everything I'd felt but I'd ignored him. In my defense, I'd never expected that it'd be so bad that she would have to be sedated, but that was no excuse. I should have known. I should have anticipated it. My mate, my fault. Fuck!

God, this was just another failure, in a long, never ending line of failures! Letting her get kidnapped from right under my nose, failing to save her before that asshole Vladimir violated her, marking her as a mate without her knowledge or consent and then behaving like a pussy and abandoning her in her time of need. Would the list never end? I wasn't perfect; had never claimed to be; but this was ridiculous even by my standards. Every possible way that I could have failed her last night, I had. Jesus… why would she ever want to be with me after all that, huh?

Well, it was time to stop with the self-flagellation (time enough later for that crap) and step up to the goddamn plate. Bella needed to be taken to Dr. Cullen…? Well then that's where she'd be taken. For once in this awful, messy, horrible situation, I was going to do the right thing! And if that meant getting along with the leech for all of the five minutes it'd take us to reach the old Cullen property, then I'd suck it up and do that too goddammit!

"Come on then, let's go…" I conceded gruffly.

"Go where…?" The leech questioned sounding bemused.

Even though I couldn't exactly blame him for his confusion (I'd gone from hostile one minute to positively meek and docile the next) I couldn't help but be annoyed at the sheer dumbness of his query. "To your house!" The 'duh' was implied. I mean, really, how thick could he be, huh? "Didn't you just say that Bella needed to be looked over by Carlisle…?" Yeah, understanding where the leech was coming from didn't mean that I'd found a well of patience for dealing with his crap. Far from it.

He bristled. "I think I'm capable of handling something as simple as carrying Bella to my house, thank you very much." He spat. "Besides, didn't you have somewhere else to be? Not even ten minutes ago you were all but running away from Bella as fast as your little feet would carry you…"

Couldn't hit him. Wouldn't hit him. Shouldn't hit him. (Not without sufficient provocation at least…) Maybe just one good punch…? No. No. I couldn't hit him. But God, I wanted to hit him!

"I'm going to say this one last time leech so you better pay attention." I growled. "She's my mate, my responsibility and therefore it is my duty, my right to do whatever needs to be done I regards to her health, well-being and safety!"

The leech growled wordlessly. He didn't like what I'd said…? Well too damn bad.

Having gotten the threats out of the way I decided to appeal to his more logical side, "You need the back-up and you know it. Do you really think that that asshole Vladimir will give up on her that easily? What happens if you get attacked while she's passed out in your arms? How are you going to defend her?"

I could see the struggle; the conflict between what he wanted to do and what he knew was right. And even though the thought of him deciding whether I could accompany my mate to safety angered me beyond reason (Mine! MINE! Not his. Never his.), I waited patiently, knowing that by walking away, even momentarily I'd opened myself up for this… this interference, this intrusion. It almost killed me (all this waiting around patiently when all I wanted to do was snatch her from his arms) but for the sake of her well-being, I kept my cool.

"So… he isn't dead yet?" The leech's question eased off some of my tension (the tone of his voice along with the fact that he was willing to have a rational discussion told me that I'd won this particular argument) while at the same time raising my hackles. "No, he isn't." I stated, somewhat defensively. "He has a witch, a powerful one…"

That seemed to give him pause while at the same time reinforcing my earlier argument. "Fuck!" Short, succinct, vicious. My eyebrows rose to my hairline. Prim and proper Edward Cullen, who believed that a woman should be chaste and pure before her wedding night, was using profanity…? (I'd never even heard him utter a PG-13 word and now he was jumping straight to the R rated stuff?) That's it. The world was coming to an end. "Fine, let's go then!" He relented half-heartedly. "Try to keep up, will you?" He barked, displaying his displeasure.

Not exactly the most gracious acceptance, but what the hell, I'd take it. "Hand her over leech." I demanded while stepping closer to take Bella from his arms. The anticipation was… indescribable. One would think, looking at me, that I'd been away from her for decades instead of mere minutes. My entire body sang for her… her touch, her feel.

"There's no chance of that happening, mutt and you know it." The leech retorted, causing an involuntary growl to escape my lips. What the fuck? He was trying to keep me away from my mate? How dare he?

The aggression threatened to break loose but I held onto my composure (just barely…) for Bella's sake. As much as I'd love to smack the leech, there was no way I was even touching him while he had Bella in his arms. 'Easy Jacob… easy. You need to calm down.' Damn, despite my well intentions, the instinct to phase was right at the fore…I backed off a couple of steps and took in deep, calming breaths of air.

"There's something different about you." Cullen exclaimed suddenly. "I don't know how to explain it. It's not 'wrong' different exactly but at the same time, it's something not quite… right. And until I figure out what it is exactly, Bella stays away from you. Besides, the bruises I saw on her body don't exactly lend to your credibility right now, do they? So, you might not like it, but here's the deal – you want to come with me, be my guest. But she stays with me. And you don't touch her or even come near her until she wakes up and tells me otherwise."

No it was not fucking alright and I wanted to make that clear to the leech. I fucking hated it. I hated it with a passion. The wolf hated it even more. (We both wanted Bella out of the bloodsucker's arms and as far away from him as humanly possible…) But I didn't (couldn't) doubt the leech's motives and I couldn't blame him for his reticence either. He just wanted her safe (even a blind man could see that he was genuinely worried about her well-being around me) and wasn't that what I wanted too? So taking that into consideration, I could be the bigger man here. Because, let's face it… getting her over to Carlisle and into a safe, protected environment took precedence over all of our macho posturing.

Gritting my teeth to keep my protests to myself, I fell into step behind the leech as he took off in the direction of his house. We zipped through the trees, the landscape blurring around us even though we consciously slowed down so that Bella had a smoother ride.

My thoughts wandered. Damn, he was fast. Not that I couldn't keep up because I could. But i had to wonder. Would I have been able to keep up so easily before the appearance of super-wolf? He was definitely faster than most members of the pack, Leah and Seth notwithstanding.

"So what happened?" He spoke up, interrupting my train of thoughts. "Why was she taken? What does he want with her?" The naked anguish in his voice kept me from snapping his head off at all the questions.

"He's a fucking psycho! Who the hell knows what he wants…" I braced myself for yet another attack of 'Grow up Jacob… you're such a child!' None came. Whoa! I couldn't believe the leech was going to give up an opportunity to blame me for something! (Alternate reality much? Or perhaps a case of multiple personality disorder?)

"I was unconscious for most of my time there." I finally got around to confessing shamefully. "When I came to, he kept going on about how she was his and how he wanted to kill me for even touching her. You know, the usual."

We both feel silent, lost in our own thoughts for a while.

Then I suddenly remembered. "Embry… how is he? What did they do to him? He's okay isn't he?" I couldn't believe I'd forgotten. Granted, I'd been preoccupied with all things Bella for a while now, but that wasn't any excuse to forget all about one's best friend, was it? Damn! Another thing I could blame on the damn mating!

"He's…" The leech trailed off. My heart threatened to beat out of my chest in anxiety.

"What? Just spit it out!"

"He's… currently stable."

That didn't sound too encouraging now, did it? "Where the hell is he? What's wrong with him?"

"He's at the compound too. You'll see him soon enough. As far as what's wrong, we haven't been able to determine it as yet but Carlisle thinks that they shot him with darts laced with vampire venom."

Just like that, all my thoughts of Bella were replaced by worry about my best friend, my brother. "Vampire venom…?" I reiterated blankly, horror blooming in my gut. "Bu… but that's lethal to us!"

"Yeah well… he seems to be dealing with it, in his own way. He's not in great shape, true, but he should be dead and he's not and we're trying to figure out why…"

Fuck. Fuck! I needed to get there… now! Embry needed me.

I sped up, rushing the leech along. A few tense moments later he cautiously continued his questioning. "So what's he like…?"

"Who, Embry…?" I asked blankly, too caught up in my own worried thoughts to think rationally.

"Vladimir…" Cullen clarified.

"Oh him… Very old, very powerful and like I said earlier, completely delusional. Actually, bordering on psychotic, would be a more accurate description I'd say. Hey you know what I just realized…? You and he should get along famously!" I muttered sarcastically.

"He and I are nothing alike!" Cullen spat out, livid with rage, the momentary peace forgotten. "I would never hurt Bella and you know it!"

He had me there. Dammit. If I was honest with myself, I'd have to admit that I'd just been trying to provoke him because I needed a convenient outlet for my rage and frustration; not because I really thought he was a monster like Vladimir. No matter who or what he was, it was obvious, even to a blind person that he cared very deeply about Bella. No matter how much I wished otherwise, even I couldn't deny that.

In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that my heart had known that I could trust him with my mate even before my mind did. That's why I'd called him this morning. That's why I'd been able to leave when I did. And though I hated the fact, I was mature enough to realize that I would need his help in the future too in dealing with the Vladimir threat (One of us could protect her while the other ripped the leech's head off with gusto – if Edward and I didn't kill each other first that is…)

In my heart I knew… when push came to shove, he'd always choose her life over his own, just like I would. No hesitation, no second thoughts. (Not that the rest of the pack or the Cullen's wouldn't do everything in their power to save Bella, because they would. But none of them had the motivation that the leech and I had. My world began and ended with Bella. It had always been like that; even before the mating. And I knew the leech felt the same. We had an ultra-special drive to save Bella – neither of us would be able to survive without her.)

And I wasn't above using this knowledge for my own means. (When it came to saving Bella, I'd be as selfish as I needed to be; never mind who got hurt in the process. It was just as simple and as uncomplicated as that. ) "You do know that this isn't over…?" I questioned seriously, before we could descend into yet another meaningless argument. "He's going to come after her again and he's going to keep coming after her until he gets her or until we kill him, whichever happens first. He's really strong – the strongest one I've dealt with as yet – and he has a powerful witch on his side. Not to mention, he has an army of vampires, a real honest to goodness army! Add in the two trigger happy teenagers he's just taken on and he makes one hell of a formidable adversary. It's not going to be that easy taking him down…"

"You think I don't know that?" He spat not bothering to hide his frustration. "I've lived longer than you boy… I've seen way more of the world than you have. I know that she's still in danger, dammit. She'll continue to be in danger until that bastard is dead!"

Fucking sanctimonious bastard! As if I didn't know how awful it was to be in this position of helplessness. As if I didn't detest it more. Fucking asshole! (He was acting like all of this was my fault when in actuality it was the other way around. After all, if he'd managed to stay away from Bella in high school like he very well should have, she would never have been exposed to the world of the supernatural. She'd have been a normal, temperamental, maladjusted teenager, with seemingly insurmountable teenage problems and she'd have grown up to be a reserved but mature adult. I'd never have phased and God willing, Bella and I would've walked our natural path, together.)

Calm. Deep. Breaths. Couldn't lose my shit now. Had to keep my eye on the ball.

"Bloo…" I choked back the usual scathing address with difficulty, "Edward, we can't keep jumping down each other's throats at the drop of a hat. Not as long as this threat to Bella exists. Her safety has to be our first priority. She has to be our only priority."

"She is my only priority!"

"Oh yeah?" I snapped; irritated with his smug condescension. "Funny, but you wouldn't know it from seeing you fighting for her attention, like a dog over a bone!"

He roared angrily.

"See that, right there is what I'm talking about." I exclaimed, satisfied that the leech had just reinforced my point. "We're wasting all our time and energy fighting each other when our only thought, our only concern should be how to keep her safe…"

"So, what're you suggesting?"

"A truce. A cease-fire, so to speak." The words were so unpalatable, I almost choked on them but dammit, I meant every word I'd just said. Bella was my priority; my only priority. And I'd do whatever it took to keep her safe, even if it meant joining hands with my worst enemy.

Edward also seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "And what will this truce entail, exactly?"

"You and I will work together to keep her safe, without letting our differences get in the way. We'll try to forget our differences and play nice, at least for the duration of this war with Vladimir. We can't afford to get distracted by our own petty grievances, not when we have such a big adversary to take care of." Jesus, just saying these things… I was going to be sick.

"Fine!" The bloodsucker spat, clearly as thrilled with the plan as I was. "I'll agree, as long as one thing's very clear."

"And what might that be…?"

"That the truce only lasts up until the moment Vladimir is gone!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way, leech." I smiled coldly.

"Well good then. Because the moment Vladimir is out of the picture, I'm going to win her back. I guarantee it, mutt."

"I'm going to pretend like I never heard that statement, but only because I just declared a truce with you for the duration of this threat. But supposing I had heard you threaten to take my mate away, I'd have told you that you'd have to kill me and my pack first before you were even able to take the first step!"

"We'll see about that soon enough won't we?" The leech taunted sarcastically.

"I guess we will…" I snapped. "Now, can we please be grown-ups and focus on our assignment for the time being at least? Or is that beyond your capabilities?"

The only response I got was a nasty growl. I decided to take it as agreement and phased on the fly to prevent further arguments. Deciding to test my earlier theory, I consciously eased off on the tight control I'd maintained on the wolf and allowed him free reign.

"What the…?" The leech exclaimed. "I… I can't hear you. What's going on here, pup? How are you able to do that?"

'Told you having me around was good for you!' The wolf exclaimed in a sing song voice.

I had to say, for the first time since he'd made his presence known in Vladimir's lair, I was genuinely glad to have the wolf around with all of his nifty new superpowers.

'Trust me, you haven't even begun to see the true extent of my powers yet. If you're pleased now, I can't wait to see your reaction to the other tricks.' He exclaimed, sounding like a kid in a candy store. 'You and I are going to have such fun together!'

"You… you shouldn't be able to shield me. It's just not possible!" The leech was falling all over himself in search of the answers. "How are you doing this? What have you done?"

I chose to stay silent, speeding up in order to get to our destination sooner. But internally, I was enjoying this new development immensely. (The leech's confusion and frustration were a large part of it, I'll admit.) After all, in short amount of time, I'd managed to outsmart the leech, prove my theory and discover an all new super-power (Or maybe I should say; super stealth!) in my already considerable arsenal of superpowers. Not bad for a day's work, huh?

"Dammit Jacob, answer me!"

Whoever had said that ignorance was bliss had obviously had way more patience than what the leech was currently displaying. Not that I cared for the bastard's state of mind or anything. In fact, I was all for letting him stew a little. (It was the least I could do to repay him for everything he'd put me through in the last 6-7 years that I'd known him. Besides, I had to admit, it felt like fucking poetic justice for all the times the bloodsucker had made me feel like an ignorant idiot!)

Throughout the rest of our journey to the Cullen estate – which lasted less than 5 minutes – I could almost physically feel the fulminating glares that the leech threw my way. Having no love lost for the little shit, I found it incredibly easy to stick to my guns and continue ignoring the him.

The almost smug pleasure I felt at outwitting the bloodsucker lasted only until we reached the compound. The moment we walked into the house, carrying Bella, pandemonium ensued.

The pixie; Alice, the Ice Queen; Rosalie and their soft-spoken 'mother'; Esme rushed towards us, with the doctor right at their heels.

"What's wrong with her Edward?" The pixie questioned, a worried urgency tingeing her voice.

"Nothing."

"Yeah sure nothing...except of course, your erstwhile brother just decided to knock her out cold, that's all!" I couldn't resist muttering even as most of my attention was fixated on Bella.

The leech snarled viciously, obviously not pleased with my interpretation of the events. Whatever. He could bite my ass for all I cared. I didn't have the time for his childish tantrums anyway.

"Oh my God… Izzy!" Dylan shouted, rather too loudly for my oversensitive ears. I couldn't help wincing in protest. "Is she okay?"

I just nodded absently. I didn't know that she really was of course, but hey, I was an eternal optimist. I had to believe that she'd be okay. After all, I couldn't have found her after I'd thought I'd lost her for sure, just to lose her again, right? The fates couldn't be so cruel.

For the first time in my memory, I actually found a viable reason to be thankful for a vampire's enhanced senses as Dr. Cullen promptly whisked Bella away for an examination without asking us any questions. (Both the leech and I wanted to go in with her but Carlisle calmly and firmly informed us that we would most likely just be in his way.)

So we waited. And paced. And waited some more.

I couldn't relax, couldn't breathe as I waited for the good doctor to assign her a clean bill of health. Even though I knew that Bella was only knocked out because of the sedative Edward had administered her, I found myself desperately anxious for Dr. Cullen's update on her status.

"Were is she? Where's my baby?" It was Renee's sudden wail that startled me out of my intense Bella fixation. What the hell…? What was she doing here?

For the first time since we walked in here, I took in my surroundings and got the shock of my life. My friends, my family, Bella's friends and her mom along with what felt like the entire town of La Push was crammed into the makeshift clinic, looking on with anxious eyes as Carlisle took care of his patients. Not just that, but some of my employees as well as some of our field agents were present too. Damn, how long was I gone?

Later I'd come to know that sometime during the night, while Bella and I had been prisoners in Vladimir's cave, Carlisle had pulled some major strings and got Charlie released from the hospital and into his care. Then early, this morning – after it became clear that he'd be better off here than there – the pack had moved Embry over from the rez and voila, the Cullen household had been transformed into a high-tech hospital equipped with what seemed to be all the latest life-saving equipment and enough of amedical arsenal to take care of most of the population of La Push and Forks combined. Our friends and family had all been urged to leave whatever they'd been doing and assemble here until further notice. It was a good, solid strategy – gather the troops and shore up the defenses. (And man, were the defenses shored! With every available vampire and wolf – those not on patrol, at least – present and on high alert, this place resembled a maximum security prison more than a private residence. The bullet proof windows, the cast iron doors and the steel reinforced walls only added to the impression.)

And while I appreciated the strategy and supported it wholeheartedly, I couldn't help shuddering at the new problems and nightmares it posed. For example, Bella's mother – how the fuck were we going to explain this shit to her? (Thankfully, Charlie was still out of it; and of course, Lisa and Dylan already knew about us; so she was the only civilian we had to worry about at the moment.)

Telling her the truth was out of the question, especially right now. Even though the Volturi problem had been resolved, it still stood to reason that the less involved she was in this mess, the safer she'd be. (I mean, if she wasn't around, then Vladimir or his minions couldn't use her as bait now could they?) Also, and selfish though it sounded, the more people we had to protect and keep track of, the lesser resources we could assign to destroying Vladimir and protecting Bella. Fuck it, I didn't care that I sounded like an asshole, I just wanted Renee out of here, both for her as well as for Bella's safety. Heck, if I could, I would've insisted on Charlie leaving too. (Dylan and Lisa too for that matter but I had a nasty feeling they weren't going anywhere.) But apart from the fact that he was sick and still in dire need of medical attention, there was also the pesky issue of him being chief of police and therefore too much of a public figure to just up and disappear at a moment's notice.

So since Renee was the only viable candidate for extraction (and since I was a practical guy who knew how to pick and choose his battles) I figured I'd take what I could get and convince Bella's mom to go back to Florida while things were still sort of calm around here. The only question was; how?

"We have to get her out of here!" I muttered softly, knowing full well that all of the supernatural creatures present in this room would be able to hear me without difficulty. "She's not safe here, while that asshole's still out there. She needs to be as far away from her as she possibly can. Anyone got any ideas on how…?"

"Uh… I think little Lisa Turner might be able to help you with that." Jared muttered from the other side of the room.

Lisa…? Bella's friend, Lisa…? Huh? What?

"I'll explain it all later." Jared reassured softly, having seen and correctly interpreted my confusion. "And don't worry, I'll talk to Lisa about seeing if she can convince Bella's mom to return back home or something…"

Okay, what the hell was going on here? Why on earth would Lisa be able to convince Renee to leave? Before I could make much sense of it or ask for any clarifications really, Carlisle's sudden reappearance drove the topic from my mind entirely.

"So doc, what's the verdict?" I asked cautiously, not sure I wanted to know but at the same time, unwilling to be kept in the dark any longer.

"I've performed a multitude of tests and I have to say, she looks remarkably unharmed for having gone through such a huge ordeal." Dr. Cullen declared in an upbeat manner. "We'll need to do a detailed examination once Bella wakes up of course, but for now, I don't see anything wrong with her that a few multivitamins and lots of rest won't cure."

I drew in the first easy breathe since I woke up this morning. She was going to be okay. Thank God! Still, I had to know. "And the sedative…?"

"Was very mild and should wear off pretty soon!" Edward spat angrily.

"Yeah, yeah… you told me. Forgive me if I don't take your word on it, leech. This is Bella we're talking about after all and I don't want to take any chances with her safety."

The bloodsucker did not appreciate being called a liar I suppose because the next thing I knew he was standing right in front of me, giving me a death glare. "Like you did when you left her this morning, you mean…?" Ouch! Low blow, that. "I would never hurt her, in any way!"

I chose to ignore his previous dig, instead concentrating on his vehement declaration. "You're being very repetitive, you know…" I responded in a deliberately affected, bored tone of voice. "One would almost say that you seem to be trying to convince yourself just as much as you're trying to convince me."

"Why you…?" The leech snarled, incensed.

"Boys!" Dr. Cullen chided tiredly, putting a quick halt to what could potentially have become a full-fledged knockdown, drag out fight. "We don't have time to fight amongst ourselves. Not if we're going to be any good to Bella."

Dammit, I knew this, had come to the same decision myself not so long ago. I'd even called a truce with my hated enemy over it. And yet, here I was right back in a position I'd promised myself I'd never be in… not till Bella was safe. What was it about the leech that brought out the worst in me?

"Sorry." I muttered, feeling adequately chastised.

"Yeah, me too…" The leech sounded equally cowed.

"Seems like this truce isn't going to be as easy as we'd originally thought..." I muttered sarcastically.

"Uh, you think…?" Edward laughed in bitter agreement.

"Don't worry though…" I hastened to add. "We might have a few setbacks, but we'll just have to keep at it till we get it right. After all, practice makes perfect, right?"

"I really hope so, mutt… er… sorry, Jacob."

I had to smile. (It was nice to know that I wasn't the only one having such a problem with this…name calling thing.)

"So – and forgive me for rehashing this, Edward, but I just have to know for sure – she's really okay?" I addressed my question to the both of them.

"She'll be fine…" Carlisle reassured me once again.

Feeling as if a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders, I bowed down in supplication. "Is there anything I can do…?" I questioned, feeling the need to do something, anything, to help her.

"No, I'm afraid not, son." Carlisle responded. "All we can do is wait for her to wake up, which she should, any moment now. I'm transferring her to the guest room on the lower level. In case either of you want to see her or sit with her for a while, you can."

"Yes of course! I'll sit with her." My response was instantaneous. As if I'd want to be anywhere else.

The leech of course had other ideas. "How about I look after her and in the meantime you go reassure your family that everything is okay?"

"Hell no! I'm not leaving you alone with her for a moment longer than I have to!" My entire body protested at the thought of leaving her, even for a moment. As if I'd leave her alone with him once again! I might've made that mistake once already, but doing so twice in one day…? Out of the question! But…wait a minute. Family…he'd mentioned family. Oh shit… Dad!

"Hey Dad," I called out, feeling a strange mixture of shame and relief. (I really hadn't given any thought to his safety since this clusterfuck began; and I should have, I so should have. I should've also ensured that all of my brothers were okay. What sort of a son and alpha was I that such basic details had completely escaped my mind? Granted, I'd been a little preoccupied myself, but still, that was no excuse!) "How're you feeling?"

"I'm alright son" he said, giving me his usual bright smile (reassuring me in his own special way that he was alright and that he understood and forgave my neglect…) "especially now that I know that both you and Bella are going to be okay."

"Good, that's good." I gave him a huge smile before turning to my brothers. "How about you guys…? Everyone okay?"

"We're okay man." Quil answered for all of them. "How about you?"

"I'm okay…" I answered uncertainly. Somehow I didn't feel okay, even though physically there was nothing wrong with me. I felt, different somehow… changed.

Before I could analyze it any further, Quil surprised me by pulling me into a fierce one armed hug. What the…? "You crazy son of a bitch, we thought we'd lost you!" Embry's illness and my disappearance had taken a toll on Quil's emotions. They were running high at the moment, it seemed.

I gave him a half-hearted but sincere smile. "Don't worry you're not getting out from under my command that easily! You're still mine to use and abuse the way I want to…"

"Ha! You wish!" He retorted, sounding almost like his normal smart aleck self. Unfortunately, the moment was far too fleeting.

"Seth, Sam, Paul…? Are they patrolling? Are they okay?"

"Yeah, they're on a three hour shift that ends in an hour approximately." Once again, it was Quil that answered. "They're fine. We all are, except for Embry…"

Ah yes, Embry. I'd consciously avoided asking about him for fear of what I'd find but now that the topic had come up anyway, I found myself desperately wanting to see how he was doing with my own eyes. I was dying to, in fact. And yet I hesitated. Because frantic as I was to see my best friend, I was also loathe to leave Bella; especially considering the fact that the leech was going to be latched onto her like… well… a leech.

Blondie (or Rosalie as she was more commonly known) rolled her eyes at my indecisiveness. "Relax little pup, Emmett and I will keep Edward company while Bella wakes up, won't we Emmett?"

What? Why? I didn't understand. Why would she go out of her way to help me?

"We will…?" Emmett, it seemed was just as clueless about his girlfriend/wife's motivations as I was. Unfortunately for him, the question did not seem to endear him to the Ice Queen at all. Instead of a clarification, he was rewarded for his efforts with one of the most vicious scowls I'd ever seen in my life. Ouch! "Uh… yes… of course we'll sit with Bella." He hastened to reiterate, while simultaneously edging Edward away from me. "Come on brother let's make sure Bella is all settled in the room, shall we?" Hmmm… apparently he wasn't just a dumb jock after all. (Or maybe he was and the blonde had just trained him really well…)

With no other explanations forthcoming, all I could do was give them both wordless nods of acknowledgement and hope that it was enough to convey to them my overwhelming gratitude.

My feet heavy with trepidation, I forced myself to walk over to the room where they were keeping Embry hooked onto various life support machines.

I barely noticed as Quil, Jared, Colin and Brady trailed in behind me. In stunned silence I took in the sight in front of me. I'd never seen Embry look like that. He was just lying there listlessly – pale, weak, utterly indefensible. The grey-white pallor of his skin was truly horrifying. And then there were the various tubes going in and out of him, pumping him chockfull with various medicines. He was literally being kept alive artificially. It was a somber sight.

"How is he?" I asked an emotionally exhausted Leah; moving to where she was hunched over at his bedside. She looked like crap, like she'd spent the night alternately crying and worrying, which she most likely had. "Any progress?" The slight shake of her head told me everything I needed to know.

Goddammit! I placed my hands on her shoulders comfortingly. "Don't worry honey. He'll be fine. He has to be. You hear that, Em? You have to get better man. If not for Leah, then for Quil and me. You wouldn't just leave us alone to deal with her rage and her mood swings now, would you? Can you just imagine…? Leah's wrath concentrated on us without having you around to bear the brunt of it…? What a nightmare! Yikes, the heart shudders!"

I got a watery laugh and a weak swat for my efforts and congratulated myself on having elicited a reaction from her other than sheer stoicism. Feeling otherwise helpless, I walked over to Carlisle's side. "So, doc, what's wrong with him?"

I had a feeling that every supernatural ear in the household was trained on us.

"Honestly, Jacob… I don't know. We know they injected him with vampire venom. We've managed to get most of it out of his system. But as toxic as our venom is to your kind, we know that it has caused extensive damage to his internal organs, even in the brief amount of time it took Edward to get him to me. His internal organs have been affected. He's coded a number of times since he was brought here but thankfully, fortunately, we were able to bring him back in time."

"Coded – what does that mean exactly?" I asked, even though I had a sinking feeling I knew what he meant by it.

"It means that his body shut down, completely. If not for timely intervention, he would've died."

Fuck! Fuck! That's what I'd been afraid of…

"The problem is that, in his case, as in yours, that supernatural healing ability all of you seem to have is working against him. His body is burning off the medicines faster than we can pump them in and I have no way of knowing whether what he is getting is enough for him to heal himself. Besides, there's really no antidote for vampire venom anyway. He's holding his own now and that's the best piece of news we have. But for whether he'll recover, I can't give you any kind of an answer." He paused sorrowfully. "I'm sorry Jacob. I know that's the last thing you want to hear right now…"

Shocked, stunned silence. Cloying, smothering grief.

No. This couldn't be happening. Not to Embry. Not to my best friend. He couldn't die. I couldn't lose him. I just couldn't. Because even though I'd never admit this out loud to anyone – and would probably beat the living daylights out of anyone who dared say it out loud – I needed him. Just like I always had. Just like I always would.

God, Embry… Oh God Embry…

None of us dared look the other in the eye for fear that we'd lose what little composure we had left. (Breaking down in front of the leeches was not an option! We still had our pride, after all!) "Is…" I cleared my throat repeatedly hoping to get past the huge lump that was lodged there. "Is there anything that I can do? Some way that I can help…?"

"I don't really know." Carlisle sounded profoundly apologetic. "I don't have enough experience with your kind of healing to determine what, if anything might help."

"So, what're you saying?"

"I'm saying that there's nothing else I can do for your friend Jacob, I'm sorry."

No. No! He was not going to die, not on my watch, not like this. There had to be something I could do.

"What if we gave him some of my blood?" I was desperate, grasping at straws. "You said that the venom had affected his organs and that he wasn't healing properly, right? Well what if we gave him untainted, fresh blood? That should help, right? My blood might help heal his body, right? Right?"

"You know… that might actually work!" The good doctor breathed, looking for all the world like he'd been hit by a thunderbolt. "Why didn't I think of that sooner?" He muttered, chastising himself. "We'll have to run some tests for compatibility of course but it's certainly an idea worth trying out. And it's not like we have a whole lot of other ideas anyway. Yes, yes, this might be the best way. How about we take samples from every person from the pack and then we'll see who the best candidate is for the transfusion depending on whose blood is the closest match." Dr. Cullen jumped into action, barking out orders as he gathered supplies.

Finally! We were actually doing something instead of just sitting around twiddling our thumbs. "Quil, call in Sam, Seth and Paul." I ordered brusquely. "Everyone else, cooperate with Dr. Cullen in whatever he tells you. We're going to help Embry pull through this." I declared fiercely, as if just by saying it I was willing it so. "He's going to be just fine…and soon!"

No one dared disagree with me (especially since my fierce gaze warned them of the dire consequences they'd face for doing so.) One by one Carlisle drew blood from all of us (including Leah) and proceeded to isolate himself in his lab for the testing.

As we waited for the results, we all kind of drifted back to our respective vigils – me back to Bella's bedside; Leah back to Embry's; Colin, Brady and Jared out on patrols. Time lost all meaning as we played a waiting game. Waiting for Bella to wake up. (Why the hell wasn't she waking up yet?) Waiting to see who; if anyone; could help Embry…

"So what happened out there, man?" Quil's sudden question managed to scare the crap out of me. Apparently I'd been too engrossed in my own thoughts to realize that he'd followed me into the room. "One minute you, Embry and the leech go off towards Vladimir's lair and the next, the leech comes back with a messed up Embry in tow. I almost lost my shit right there, man. I'm telling you, if Leah hadn't intervened when she did, I'd have ripped the leech into tiny little pieces and turned him into fish bait!"

For a brief moment I savored the image that Quil's words evoked in my mind – thousands of pieces of Cullen floating around in the Pacific Ocean like chunks of ice floating around after they'd broken off from a glacier. Ah! What an image. His ice cold body parts would help lower the temperature of the water and contribute a little in reducing global warming. But it was only right. With the number of animals he'd killed over the last century he must've created a serious ecological imbalance in the various forests of the world. Therefore, it was only right that he help make things better.

Unfortunately my day dreams, pleasant as they were, couldn't last forever. Sighing in disappointment, I focused my wandering mind back on Quil and the rest of the pack members as well as our employees and staff members; who'd crowded in behind him to hear the story. I was noticeably reluctant to get into the gory details of my escape here, in front of the leeches as well as the civilians, but I didn't see any way out of it. Besides, being that we were all on the same team (Team Bella) now, I suppose I could make an effort to trust them a little.

Resigned to the situation, I walked out into what was essentially the main living room of the house and indicated for everyone else to do the same. (I really didn't want to disturb Bella in any way. Especially not since the doctor had indicated that she needed all the rest she could get.)

"We were ambushed." I began; once we were all assembled comfortably on the fancy chairs and sofas; answering Quil's previous question. "It was a trap. This guy has a freaking army of vampires at his disposal, not to mention the two teen-vamps from the Volturi guard that were here after the battle with Victoria and the newborns. They just came at us from out of nowhere and before we could even react to their presence, they'd zapped Embry with some kind of a tranquilizer dart. Before I even knew what was happening, Embry had collapsed by my side. I knew immediately that something was terribly wrong with him and so I urged the leech to bring him back to the doc while I distracted them." I recounted the events as I remembered them. "But it turns out, those bastard leeches had other plans for me and as soon as Eddie-boy was out of the picture, they hit me with actual tranq darts and carted me off to their boss."

"Then what happened?" Seth piped in eagerly…almost too eagerly.

"What's going on?" I tossed back at him, knowing instinctively that his questions had an ulterior motive.

"Well…" He began hesitantly, "I don't know how to put this exactly… but everyone from the pack… we all passed out; for no apparent reason; at around the same time yesterday. None of us know what happened, just that we were out for some time and that when we came back, we felt strangely weak and powerless and that before we passed out, we all felt… you. I can't really explain it… but we were all wondering if you could shed some light on what went down…"

Shit! The wolf. I knew it; knew with every breath in my body. He'd told me he'd siphoned power from the pack to aid our escape from Vladimir's lair. This is what he'd been talking about. Literally, siphoning their power. Holy fucking shit!

My anger at the wolf ratcheted up another notch. He had no right, no fucking right to leave my brothers defenseless.

'Our brothers…' He whispered in my mind. 'And I didn't want to leave them defenseless. It was just an unavoidable complication…"

'Yeah well, fuck you! I'll deal with you later. Right now I have more important things to think about!'

"Is everyone okay?" Another thought occurred to me, freezing my blood in my veins. "Embry…? He didn't…"

"No, no… for some reason he wasn't similarly affected."

Well, thank fuck for small mercies!

'No…thank me! You think I'm selfish enough to just take whatever I want from our brothers without bothering about their well-being… well, I'm not! I chose not to take power from Embry…chose not to; because he was so desperately in need of it himself! I knew the others could handle themselves and recover… but I knew Embry was in no position to…'

Grudgingly I acknowledged that the wolf had at least acted in the best interests of everyone concerned. True I was still not happy about my pack mates being powerless for any amount of time. But that one action had gotten Bella and me out of an impossible situation so I couldn't complain… much.

"So, you're all okay?" I didn't matter that I was being repetitive. I just had to make sure.

"Yeah we're fine… thanks to Lisa here."

Okay, what the fuck? This was the second time in as many minutes that my brothers had mentioned Bella's friend… and in extremely glowing terms at that.

"I…I didn't actually do all that much…" Lisa stuttered shyly.

"Oh please, stop underestimating yourself. You were brilliant, simply brilliant!"

For a brief moment I was struck by the look in Seth's eyes. It was a look I'd never seen on his face before. He almost looked… tender. Ladies' man Seth, confirmed bachelor Seth, 'there are way too many beautiful women in this world to settle down with just one' Seth. Wow. This was most definitely an unexpected development. Not unwelcome, for sure, just… unexpected.

Clearly, something was going on here and I was determined to find out what it was. But, first things first. "What does Lisa have to do with any of this?" I questioned; probing gently.

"Yeah well, it turns out that she was harboring a secret identity of her own all this while. Our darling Lisa comes from a long line of very powerful witches!" Seth replied, sounding dead serious and almost giddily pleased all at the same time. "She helped all of us to heal faster than we normally would have."

Say what now…? I was in shock. Prim and proper, tiny little Lisa – a witch?

How could we not know about this? How could she have been hiding this little nugget of information from us, especially since she knew all of our secret identities? Did Bella know? And if so, why hadn't she told us till now?

I could feel the fierce satisfaction of the wolf, the almost visceral sense of pleasure he got from this revelation and that's when it finally sunk in – the most pertinent piece of information in this whole scenario. We now had a witch of our own. Combined with all of the other resources at our disposal, this was the break we'd been looking for; the edge we'd desperately needed. Between my newly discovered superpowers and this, we now had a chance, however slight, of taking on that asshole Vladimir and emerging victorious.

Spurred on by this unexpected piece of news, I realized that the time had come to put all the cards on the table. This however, was easier said than done. "Uh… I don't really know how to say this. And I know it's going to sound insane. But you've got to trust me and just listen to what I have to say with an open mind…"

"Jeez just spit it out already!" Brady called out from the back of the room.

I rewarded him with my most withering glare. Fucking hormonal, temperamental teenagers! No patience, honestly. Well, fine. If they just needed the highlights, I was more than happy to oblige, the consequences be damned. "Vladimir has a witch of his own – who's a bitch, by the way – and she tried to put a spell on me to drain me of my powers. Well to make a long story short, shit happened and her plan backfired, big time. Instead of draining my powers like she'd planned to, she only succeeded in bringing down the wall in my psyche that helped separate my human self from my wolf. So now, I can basically feel him, hear him and talk to him, whenever I want to without having to shift first. Similarly, he can see and feel and experience everything I'm feeling.

"Fuck!" Paul swore succinctly. "Is that how you got away?"

"Yes. When you passed out, that was basically the wolf harnessing all of your powers in order to overpower the vampire and his army of minions."

I trailed off, slightly unnerved by the reception my news got from the pack. They were all looking at me as if I'd just declared that I was the second coming of Jesus or something. Well shit! Apparently I had my very own flock of groupies now. Who woulda thought, huh?

"Holy shit! That's amazing!" Colin and Brady breathed at almost the same time. "So you're saying that you're even more powerful now? That's absolutely brilliant! What else can you do now? Can you harness the wolf's power even while you're in human form…? Can you run faster?" They were both staring at me like I was their very own superhero come to life. Oh boy! This was not good. This was not good at all.

I had a good mind to yell at them and tell them to grow the hell up… and I would have too, except, something inside me – a sixth sense – told me that Bella was finally awake. It was like a jolt to my system; a strange pull telling me that I had to go to her, now. For once, I didn't try to resist it. Couldn't resist it. The pull was too strong.

Without pausing to explain myself or my actions to my avid audience, I turned around and sprinted towards her room as quickly as I humanly could. I just had to see her, to hold her in my arms again. Nothing else was important; not the leech, not the crisis we were dealing with; nothing! She was all that mattered.

I burst into the room; my eyes greedily seeking out the one I loved beyond all reason.

Fortunately for my peace of mind and sanity, she seemed to have been equally desperate to see me too. "Bells…" The overwhelming pleasure and relief I felt were impossible to hide and I didn't even bother to try.

"Jake…" She breathed softly, her voice skittering along all my nerve endings and bringing them all to life.

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. My mate.

The wolf purred inside me, content to finally be within touching distance of his mate. There was only one potential problem on the horizon and that was the presence of not one but three leeches in the room.

"Out, all of you!" I commanded hoarsely, not bothering to spare the leeches even a single glance. (I wasn't trying to be deliberately rude. I just had this overwhelming need to be alone with her.)

"Like hell!" Edward scoffed.

"Now!" My tone made it clear that this was an order, not a request.

The leech bristled. "Don't try to give me orders, mutt! I'm not one of your posse that I'll automatically fall in line!"

Some truce, huh?

"Edward…" Bella broke in nervously before I could respond to that insult. "Can I please have some time alone with Jake?"

Take that, leech! I could practically feel myself gloating.

"But…" The leech sounded devastated. "You don't know what you're saying. You don't know what he's done…"

Oh fuck no! He was not going to tell her lies and half-truths, not on my watch! "Don't!" I snarled violently. (I didn't want to fight with him; especially considering the fact that I'd suggested the truce in the first place; but I would if I had to. No way in hell was I letting him narrate his skewed version of events to Bella. As if I didn't have enough problems of my own…)

"Come on, Edward," Emmett intervened. "You heard the lady. Let's leave them alone for now. We'll come back in a little while, okay?"

"Bella…" The bloodsucker pleaded. "Are you sure?"

Rosalie snapped. "Oh for fuck's sake, Edward; yes she's sure! She's asking you to leave. How much more sure can she be?"

In the face of Blondie's words, the leech seemed to deflate like a balloon. He finally seemed to realize that there wasn't much he could do except respect Bella's wishes.

For a brief moment I actually felt sorry for the leech. I knew what losing Bella felt like. (I'd lived through it for six years and it was hell. I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone, even my worst enemy.) Then I reminded myself that the leech was, in fact, my worst enemy and that there was no reason to show him any mercy. After all, he hadn't.

Finally, after what seemed like ages but was only in fact a couple of minutes, Bella and I were alone in the room. My first instinct was to snatch her in my arms and smother her with hugs and kisses but in lieu of the fact that she'd just woken up from being heavily sedated and was currently residing in what amounted to a hospital bed, I settled for just holding her hand in both of mine.

Even that small, barely there contact seemed to soothe the desperate yearnings of the animal within. I took a deep breath and basked in the peace and quiet… and the sheer joy she brought to my life.

God, it almost felt like we'd not seen each other in ages… as if we were the only two people in the entire world. (Call me an optimist but I didn't think it was all about the mating…) We drank each other in –frantically, desperately – as if we were starved for just one more glimpse of the other. No one else existed in that moment… just the two of us, cocooned in our love. The feeling was indescribable, the high… inexpressible.

I leaned over and rested my forehead against hers, reveling in the sheer intimacy of the moment. "You okay, honey?" I questioned softly.

"Hmmm…" She moaned happily.

My breath caught in my throat, that noise creating havoc with my whole respiratory system. How the hell did she do that; reduce me to a pathetic, desperate man with just one action…?

Before I could say or do anything, Lisa, Dylan and Renee came rushing into the room. Dammit to hell! Was it too much to ask for some time alone with my girl? Apparently, it was.

"Bella!" Renee exclaimed happily, pulling Bella into her arms for a tight hug. "Oh my baby… how are you feeling? Are you alright? You gave us all such a fright, disappearing the way you did. And then to get a call from Dr. Cullen saying that you'd been in a minor car accident! God darling, I almost had a nervous breakdown. It's a good thing Jake here found you when he did or who knows how long it would've been before someone found you… I can't even bear to think about it honey."

What the…? I risked a quick glance at Dylan over Renee's shoulder, a questioning frown marring my face.

"Magic…" He mouthed softly.

Oooohh… okay.

Bella looked a little confused but thankfully, she didn't say or do anything to contradict the statement. (She'd had enough experience with cover stories to mess with one.)

"I'm fine mom… don't worry." She reassured Renee; squirming to get free of the tight hug without much of a success. "Mom…? Mom! You can let go now… really!" She made her wishes known, loud and clear.

Renee eased back, wiping her eyes discreetly. "Oh dear… I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm so emotional. I must be nearing menopause or something…"

All of our faces flamed brightly and we made a conscious effort to avoid each other's gazes. "Mom!" Bella groaned loudly. "That's… that's too much information!"

"Oh, oops. Sorry." Renee giggled. "Anyway, I was just waiting for you to wake up to tell you that I have to leave now."

"Leave…?" Bella questioned. "Where are you going?"

"Back home to Florida of course…"

"What? Why?"

Dylan, Lisa and I studiously refused to look at each other or at Bella for that matter. Still, I felt like our guilt was stamped on all of our faces for everyone to see.

"Phil needs me. I have to go."

"Come on Mom. You can stay just a few more days, can't you? Once Carlisle gives me the go ahead, I'll drive you down to Seattle myself."

"Phil needs me. I have to leave. I have to leave now."

Wow! This was some pretty powerful shit!

"Okay…" Bella's face was scrunched up in confusion. "If you have to go now, you have to go now I guess."

Renee gave Bella one more hug, promised to call often and walked out of the room before any of us could say anything.

Bella looked on silently; her eyes moist with tears, her disappointment acutely palpable.

Dammit, now I felt guilty. And I could make out by the expression on her face that Lisa felt the same way. But what could we do? We didn't have a choice in the matter. Renee had to leave… for the sake of her own well-being. I appeased some of my remorse by promising myself that once this shit was behind us I would fly Bella down to Florida so that she could spend some quality time with her Mom.

"Are you really alright?" Lisa questioned suddenly – in what was to me at least – an obvious attempt to distract Bella from her mother's abrupt and weird departure. Her eyes were haunted; her voice was heavy with the weight of her knowledge. But there was also real concern behind her inquiry. Real, honest to goodness fear. She knew that there was more to the story of Bella's kidnapping than any of us were letting on and she wasn't all wrong.

The usually cocky Dylan looked shaken too as he walked over to the other side of the bed and claimed Bella's remaining free hand with his own. For once I didn't mind. Even though the wolf was chafing at the fact that some other male was touching our mate, I knew what that touch was really about. There wasn't anything romantic about it. It was simply about need – the need to make sure that Bella was really here and that she was safe. Both Lisa and Dylan were clearly shaken to their core – it would've been obvious even to the most oblivious person in the world. Couldn't really blame them; after all, they knew the actual story as opposed to the official one. They knew how close to death Bella had come last night and the knowledge clearly sat very heavily on them.

"Yes sweetie, I'm really fine. Just feel a little tired and woozy, but other than that, no issues."

The moment those words left her mouth, both Lisa and Dylan swooped in and threw their arms around Bella in a three-way hug, pushing me to the sidelines. "Don't you ever do that to us again!" Dylan whisper-yelled at Bella. "You have no idea what you put us through, Izzy! I think I just aged fifty years in one night and it's all your fault!"

"Oh don't worry," Bella laughed shakily, "I have no intention of ever going through something like that, ever again."

To my sharp senses, the shudder of disgust was very prominent. As was the tremor in her voice. And they were both as excruciatingly painful to me as nails being slowly drilled into my body.

Thankfully before the torture could go on any further, Carlisle peeked into the room. "Bella!" His face broke into an easy smile seeing her awake. "I thought I heard your voice! How are you feeling?"

"Carlisle!" She responded with a smile and open arms, as if demanding a hug. Carlisle laughed and obliged. "I'm feeling fine. Just a little tired and a tad disoriented…"

"That's not unusual, after everything you went through. But, just to be safe, I'd like to run some more tests on you now if you don't mind. Don't worry; it's all very routine…" Sensing our worry, Dr. Cullen hastened to reassure us.

"Yes of course. Whatever you think is needed."

"Alright then…this will only take a few minutes." He declared, snapping on his sterile gloves. He turned his attention to the rest of the people in the room. "All of you can wait outside for a couple of minutes." Carlisle said, discreetly but firmly telling us that our presence was not needed.

I didn't want to go, not at all. But I couldn't insist on being here… it was after all, Bella's choice. "Uh… Bells, I'll be right outside, okay?" I explained hesitantly.

"Don't worry Jacob. This will only take a minute or two…" Carlisle reiterated softly in an attempt to calm my nerves.

Thankful and yet strangely reluctant, I stepped outside and parked myself on the floor just outside the doorway. I wasn't going any further than was strictly needed, no way. Also this way, I could hear whatever was being said inside the room. (Not that I didn't trust the good doctor because I did. I was just feeling a little paranoid right now as far as Bella was concerned and I blamed it completely on my wolfy self.)

Wanting to give both of them some privacy I tuned out most of the conversation from inside the room, just keeping my ears open for anything unusual. Everything seemed to be going alright, Carlisle seemed to be quite happy with the progress Bella had made in the short time she'd been here.

And then…

"Do you mind telling me how you got this scar?" He questioned cautiously.

Oh CRAP!

"Scar? What scar? Where?" Bella questioned.

"Right here, on the side of your neck…" Carlisle must've pointed it out.

"No, I don't know… what is it?"

"It…" He cleared his throat loudly. "It looks like a bite mark."

Shit. Shit. SHIT!

"Bite mark?" Bella squeaked, making no attempt to disguise her fear or her disgust.

My fault. All of it, my fault. Fuck!

"Did he…" Carlisle was clearly hesitant to bring the topic up. "Did the vampire drink from you, Bella?"

"I…I don't remember." She whispered. "Maybe… yes…"

"Okay, okay. Relax. You don't need to worry about it. We already know that this type of vampire does not secrete venom. So, physically, other than fatigue, there should be no other consequences of him feeding from you. Although…" Carlisle trailed off in confusion, "this bite doesn't look like a vampire bite to me. There are no pinpricks. I don't understand. It almost looks like a human bite…"

Oh holy shit! I panicked.

I'd have to explain myself now, although I had absolutely no idea how…

What was I going to say? How in the world would I explain something that I had so little understanding of myself? Of course I knew that I'd have to eventually tell Bella everything… about the wolf and the mating bond and the repercussions of said bond. But I hadn't gone so far as to deciding what to say or do. The grand total of my plan so far had included my explaining myself to Bella, and her understanding the situation and forgiving me. (She would. Of course she would. She loved me after all.) How I'd actually go about telling her was not something I'd given much thought to.

Dammit! I just wished she and I had some privacy for the conversation. Doing this here, now – in such close proximity of a dozen prying eyes and ears – just seemed wrong somehow. This was a conversation that should be between Bella and me. Just between Bella and me. It was a private matter dammit. Just the thought of everyone listening in – Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Edward…

Fuck!

Let no one else have heard that, please God…

Oh who was I kidding…? This house was filled to the brim with supernatural creatures whose sense of hearing was sharper than that of any wild animal on the face of the earth. Of course they'd all heard what was being said in the room. My only hope – small though it was – was to hope that no one would connect that bite mark with me.

Of course, I hadn't taken into account the leech's reaction...

The sound of his feral snarls; along with the sound of Rosalie, Emmett and Alice's attempts to calm him down; could be heard all over the damn house.

Fuck! I was pretty sure that the guilt I was feeling was just stamped on my face!

"Holy shit!" Quil exclaimed. "It was you? You bit her?"

Oops. Busted!

I whipped around at the exclamation, with a good mind to strangle my friend for his lack of tact as well as his horrendous sense of timing, only to discover that I was under the goddamn scrutiny of each and every person in the room and they were all staring at me as if I'd not only murdered their pet cat but also dismembered it right in front of their very eyes.

Damn it all to hell! And just when the day had started to finally look up!

A/N: - So…? Did I make up for my long absence? And more importantly, did I make up for the way I left off in the last chapter? I know there wasn't that much of J/B action in this chapter and I know that that's what most of you are waiting for. All I can say is that it's coming. Soon. Most of the stuff in this chapter, while seemingly unexciting, just needed to be said for the sake of the story's progression. I hope you bear with me. Basically, I just assumed that you wouldn't want all this other extraneous stuff interfering with all the upcoming B/J goodness that I have planned for us. Was I wrong? Or did I do good? I sure hope for the latter.

Anyway, so I got way less reviews for last chapter than I usually do and I'm kinda curious. Was that because you just didn't like last chapter or was it because all these long, interminable delays have just made you lose interest…? Are you still with me? Yes or no, I'd really like to know the answer. So, if you're still here and reading the story, can you just, maybe, raise your hand and yell out your continuing interest, please? Seriously. I'd really, really like to know. And expanding on the same theme, please don't forget to review and tell me what you think of the chapter! Thanks...

And finally, a great, big, huge 'Thank You' to Erin, my kickass soulmate/beta. She's the bestest beta out there and an even better friend. Honestly, I don't know anyone else who can put up with all my crap the way she does. She's awesome. Nuf' said! She brainstorms with me as long as I want to and reads and re-reads my work till it is damn near perfect. Yes, she's kind of a slave driver (:P) but I love her for it. Honestly, if you like this chapter at all, it is thanks in large part due to her hard work and patience. In fact, this entire story is possible, only because of her encouragement and support. She just won't let me quit…even when I really, really want to! And for that and everything else that she does and is, I want to thank her from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, soulmate. You rock!

Also, a huge, huge thank you to Wendy for being so awesomely encouraging and supportive. She's a great friend and I'm lucky to have her in my corner. She's always available to talk when I need her and knows exactly how to make things better when they pretty much suck. She's one of my most ardent supporters and just talking to her reminds me of all the reasons I started to write this story in the first place. Thank you sweetie. You're the best!

And now... go review please. Go on, what're you waiting for, huh? :)